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Top Tier Watercolor Supplies (for pro artists or the super obsessed art supply connoisseurs)
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items I use Vegetarian Watercolor Supplies in my professional art practice - these are the ones I recommend the most. I've chosen these products based on their pigmentation and high lightfast ratings as well ease of use. If you want to sell your art prof...
Sections
5
Paints
Brushes and Tools
Paper
Tutorials and Resources
Special effects
Paints
Vegetarian watercolor paints that are worth the money.
Highly recommend for beginners - pigment based paint at a fair price, excellent lightfastness. Important note: Three paints in the set are NOT vegetarian - Virdian Hue, Raw Umber and Ivory Black.
Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Studio Set, 45 Half ...
I use these for the letters in my Watercolor Monograms and anywhere else I need metallic accents in my watercolors.
"Gold & Silver" Pearlcolor Set - coliro
These have a gorgeous duochrome shift - I use these for the letters in my Watercolor Monograms and anywhere else I need interesting metallic accents in my watercolors.
"Magical Creatures" Pearlcolor Set - coliro
These are super pigmented and bright colors. Most of these have great lightfastness. Note: these are vegetarian but NOT vegan because they have honey in them.
97.28US $ 45% OFF|Mijello Mission Gold Class 7ml Tube Watercolor Set // 36 + Palette Pure Pigment Sets Art Supplies For Artists - Water Color - AliExpress
Gorgeous for florals and botanicals
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Jean Haines' Master Set of 10
Super fun and colorful set
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Paul Wang's Color Play Lab Set of 10, 5 ml, Tube
Great Primary Set
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Essentials Set, 5 ml Tube
Gorgeous granulating mineral colors
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - PrimaTek Set, 5 ml Tube
I use this for sunflowers
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue, 15 ml Tube
Granulating color good for mixing skintones, can also be used for sand in landscapes and sandstone in architecture.
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Buff Titanium, 15 ml Tube
Gorgeous color used for accents
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Quinacridone Gold, 15 ml Tube
Florals
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Quinacridone Coral, 15 ml Tube
Great for mixing skintones
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Goethite Brown Ochre, 15 ml Tube
Good for skintones, earthy tones and landscapes.
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Raw Sienna, 15 ml Tube | BLICK Art Materials
Blending colors and florals.
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Quinacridone Violet, 15 ml Tube
I have the smaller set of 5 preliminary colors of this gouache and the quality is amazing, the colors blend like a dream and the opacity is really great. These are useful for when you want to add full-bodied elements to your watercolor - either as contrast or to cover up a mistake.
I use the white a lot to paint highlights or to paint stars in a night sky.
The set is also lovely to use on its own as a standalone medium.
I use the white a lot to paint highlights or to paint stars in a night sky.
The set is also lovely to use on its own as a standalone medium.
Holbein Artists Gouache and Sets
Brushes and Tools
Vegetarian watercolor paint brushes
I have the round brushes from this collection in size 12, 14, 18 and 20. The synthetic fibers in these brushes are made to mimic natural hair brushes in water retention. I use these for my larger scale pieces, especially my florals, but these are great all-rounder brushes for landscapes and other subjects as well.
Raphaël Soft Aqua Brush
These pencils are great for your preliminary sketch underneath the watercolor. If you choose a color that is similar to the color you are painting, then the pencil lines won't be noticeable in your end result.
I also like to use different colors to block in different elements or guiding lines when I'm sketching.
I also like to use different colors to block in different elements or guiding lines when I'm sketching.
Prismacolor ColErase Pencils and Sets
Nobody has the time to mess around with a compass to create a circle. And I hate the little holes it makes with the needle. This is a million times easier and handier. It comes in clutch when I need to draw a perfect circle for anything.
Chartpak Rapidesign Large Circle Template
Paper
This is an inexpensive student-grade paper that's thick enough to handle water. The sheets are great for quick practice, testing color palettes and small crafts like bookmarks. I also recommend these if you have kids that love to paint.
Canson XL Watercolor Pads
This is my favorite vegetarian watercolor paper. I buy them in bulk (10 sheets at a time so I can get a whole pack) and then cut them down to size. This saves me a lot of money in the long run. I use 140lb cold press, but they have them in different weights and finishes.
L’Aquarelle Canson Héritage Watercolor Paper
Tutorials and Resources
This guy is one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to watercolor. His youtube channel has a TON of information that can help beginners as well as tips and techniques that will help as you get more advanced. He also taught me a lot about how to make smart buying decisions when I'm purchasing new paints or paper. Subscribing to his channel is a must!
The Mind of Watercolor You Tube Channel
When you start to geek out about watercolor paints, this website is going to be one of your most frequently visited. It's a comprehensive list of the different pigments used in watercolor paints so you can make smarter purchasing decisions about which paint to buy - his chart has info on how lightfast the pigment is, how staining it is, how transparent or opaque it... He also includes his own personal notes detailing how he feels about the pigment after his own intensive tests. If you want to get into the technicals and nitty gritty, this is the site you need.
handprint : the complete palette
Kristy’s watercolor tutorials were one of the first I tried when I was getting into watercolors and they really helped me get a grasp of how they worked and how to work in layers. She’s also an expert at color pencils if that’s something you’re look...
Kirsty Partridge Art
I love Shayla Campbell’s laid back art style. She’ll teach you how to draw stress free loose florals and make fun and delightful projects. Her channel is full of soft and cozy art that’s fun to make and that you’ll enjoy seeing in your home or in y...
Shayda Campbell
I learned how to paint loose watercolor flowers from these videos. Jean Haines is an absolute master and her videos will inspire you to experiment and have fun with watercolors and paint in a looser, more expressive style. She shows you how to real...
Watercolor Workout with Jean Haines Video Collection
Special effects
When doing large washes, use this to mask off areas that you want to leave blank. This is great for preserving highlights (like when you want to keep areas blank for showing highlights in water etc). It's also great when you need to put two contrasting colors (like red and green) right next to each other and you can't afford for t...
Top tip: use a brush you don't care about for this, because it will ruin the brush. Rub the brush in a bit of soap lather, then dip it in a cap full of masking fluid and apply to the page - washing off the fluid afterward will be much easier.
Top tip: use a brush you don't care about for this, because it will ruin the brush. Rub the brush in a bit of soap lather, then dip it in a cap full of masking fluid and apply to the page - washing off the fluid afterward will be much easier.
Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid Medium
When you need to bring in white details, like clouds in the sky, whipped cream, stars or snow I like using a bit of this white gouache. For stars and snow, I'll dilute it a bit with water and flick it onto the page for a random, speckled effect.
Holbein Artists Gouache and Sets
I use the number 10 Sakura Gel Pen so often in my work to create fine highlights and reflections. It's fine enough to create some super thin lines but bold enough to show up on top of even the darkest watercolor. I've been using them for years and they have never let me down - super reliable and long lasting.
Sakura Gelly Roll Opaque White Pen - Set of 3